Asia Cup blog: Rohit Sharma slams 22nd ODI fifty

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Mirpur, Bangladesh:  Arch-rivals India and Pakistan face off today in an epic Asia Cup 2014 clash. The match assumes greater significance as it is a battle for survival for both nations after each suffered a loss in the tournament - being played in Dhaka. Here are the updates from Mirpur: (Scorecard | Commentary | Toss Report)
14.47 (IST): Saeed Ajmal comes into the attack and starts with a tidy over, giving away just 1 run. India 85/2 in 17 overs.
14.35 (IST): Fifty for Rohit Sharma! He gets it with a four off Shahid Afridi! This is his 22nd ODI fifty and his fourth vs Pakistan. India 78/2 in 14.1 overs.
14.29 (IST): Debutant Mohammed Talha comes into the attack. He gets a hint of early out swing. India 69/2 in 13.1 overs.
14.23 (IST): This India-Pakistan clash, like most of the past, has lived up to the hype. In what has been the most eventful set of first 10 overs in the tournament so far, Pakistan began their bowling with Mohammed Hafeez, who dismissed Shikhar Dhawan cheaply. Unlike recent times, Rohit Sharma started confidently and took the attack to the Pakistan bowlers, hitting two sixes on the way. India reached the fastest 50 of the tournament in 49 balls (8.1 overs) but Pakistan pulled one back by getting rid of Virat Kohli early. Both teams have shared the honours in the first 10 overs and the next 10 could be crucial.
14.18 (IST): Ajinkya Rahane plays a wonderfully timed straight drive to the fence to take India to 60/2 in 10 overs.

14.14 (IST): Oh dear! Indian fans look away as Virat Kohli (5) has gifted his wicket! Kohli tries to guide a ball down to the third man fence but an edge carried straight to Umar Akmal. India 56/2 in 9.1 overs.
14.08 (IST): Rohit Sharma looks like a man on a mission. He hits Junaid Khan for a four over mid-off to bring up the 50 for India. This is the fastest 50 off the tournament. India 52/1 in 8.1 overs.
14.06 (IST): Virat Kohli needs to be wary of Misbah-ul-Haq fielding at short cover. Kohli has the knack of driving a lot through the covers and needs to keep it along the ground today.
14.00 (IST): Rohit is in good touch here. A length ball from Junaid and he flicked the ball over mid-wicket for his second six of the game. India 38/1 in 6.4 overs.

13.52 (IST): What a shot from Rohit! Junaid Khan tries to angle the ball away from the right hander and Rohit cut it elegantly behind point for a four. India 30/1 in 4.4 overs.
13.50 (IST): Junaid Khan replaces Mohammed Hafeez. Hafeez was clearly used to get rid of Shikhar Dhawan early and he managed to do that.
13.48 (IST): First six of the game! Rohit Sharma pulls Umar Gul for a six over deep square leg. Sublime timing from Rohit there. India 25/1 in 3.5 overs.
13.43 (IST): Mohammed Hafeez strikes! He continues to do well against the left-handed batsman. In this case, he traps Shikhar Dhawan (10) in front of the stumps. India 18/1 in 3 overs.
13.31 (IST): First runs! Dhawan cuts Hafeez in front of point for four. India 5/0 in 0.2 overs.
13.30 (IST): Interesting, bold start from Pakistan as right arm offbreak bowler Mohammed Hafeez opens the bowling.
13.26 (IST): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma walk out to begin India's innings.

13.18 (IST): As it stands, Sri Lanka are top of the points table with 8 points from two matches. Pakistan are second with 5 points and India are third with 4 points from two matches each. With a win over Bangladesh, Afghanistan are also on 4 points but behind India on Net Run Rate.
13.16 (IST): Pacer Mohammed Talha receives his ODI cap from his skipper Misbah-ul-Haq.
13.14 (IST): Pakistan: Sharjeel Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammed Hafeez, Sohaib Maqsood, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Mohammed Talha, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan
13.10 (IST): India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami
13.04 (IST): India have replaced Stuart Binny with leg spinner Amit Mishra. Its a gamble given that Pakistan have won the toss and elected to field first. If the dew comes into play, the spinners could find life tough when they come on to bowl.
13.00 (IST): Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq wins toss, elects to field first vs India in Mirpur.
12.46 (IST): According to the pitch report, the conditions in Mirpur is such that there would be far lesser dew that that was witnessed in the games at Fatullah. That could have an impact on the captains' decision at the toss.
12.34 (IST): Head-to-head in 125 games, Pakistan (71 wins) have a better record over India (50 wins) but India tend to hold the aces in
12.34 (IST): The last time these two teams met in the Asia Cup, Virat Kohli scored 183. Wonder what's in store from the Indian skipper today.
12.22 (IST): At the start of the tournament, Virat Kohli played down the hype behind the clash between India and Pakistan, but here they are, locking horns in a clash that is extremely crucial for their survival in the tournament.

12:10 (IST): Defending champions Pakistan suffered an opening defeat against Sri Lanka. Their performance against Afghanistan also left room for improvement despite a 72-run win eventually. India too have been rather jaded. The five-time Asia Cup winners were hardly convincing in their 6-wicket victory against hosts Bangladesh. This was followed by a defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka by two wickets in a match where the fielding made a mockery of itself.
12:00 (IST): Eight months ago - on June 15, 2013 - India and Pakistan took each other on in Champions Trophy, at Birmingham. A wave of blue and green was threatened by repeated rain but it was the Indian team which eventually managed to come out on top - winning the eight wickets and with 17 balls to spare. Fast-forward to March 2 and the two sides will lock horns once again - this time much close to home.